Don't ask, don't tell
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- This article is about the US military policy. For the 2002 film, see Don't Ask, Don't Tell (film). For the Ugly Betty episode, see Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Ugly Betty episode).
"Don't ask, don't tell" is the common term for the U.S. military policy which implements Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654). Unless one of the numerous exceptions from 10 U.S.C. 654(b) applies, the policy prohibits anyone who has sexual bodily or romantic contact with a person of the same sex from serving in the armed forces of the United States, and prohibits any homosexual or bisexual from disclosing his or her sexual orientation, or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces. The policy also requires that as long as gay or bisexual men and women in the military hide their sexual orientation, commanders are not allowed to investigate their sexuality.
It was introduced as a compromise measure in 1993 by President Bill Clinton who, while campaigning for the Presidency, had promised to allow all citizens regardless of sexual orientation to serve openly in the military, a departure from the then complete ban on those who are not heterosexual. The actual policy was crafted by Colin Powell and has been maintained by Clinton's successor, George W. Bush.
- "Sexual orientation will not be a bar to service unless manifested by homosexual conduct. The military will discharge members who engage in homosexual conduct, which is defined as a homosexual act, a statement that the member is homosexual or bisexual, or a marriage or attempted marriage to someone of the same gender." — quoted in "The Pentagon's New Policy Guidelines on Homosexuals in the Military", The New York Times (July 20, 1993), p.A14.
More generally, "Don't ask, don't tell" has come to describe any instance in which one person must keep their sexual orientation and any related attributes, including their family, a secret, but where deliberate lying would be undesirable.
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[edit] History
The armed forces, during the early American revolutionary war, treated sodomy (then broadly defined as oral or anal sexual conduct) as grounds for being dishonorably discharged. The first recorded efforts of such a discharge were in 1778 when Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin was dishonorably discharged, with the approval of General George Washington, for a conviction of homosexual sodomy and perjury. The Articles of War maintained the crime of sodomy, but it was not until 1942 that the armed forces considered homosexual status as grounds for being separated from the military through a process of effective recruitment screening or internal investigations that some historians have qualified as being witch-hunts. Thus, gays and bisexuals in the armed forces were subject to criminal sanctions under the sodomy prohibition, or they could be given a dishonorable discharge (often a Section 8) and returned to civilian life where they would not receive veterans benefits and often had difficulty finding employment because most civilian employers knew what a Section 8 discharge meant.
The success of the armed forces in pre-screening out gays and bisexuals from the 1940s - 1981 remains in dispute, and during the Vietnam Conflict some heterosexuals would try to pretend to be gay in order to avoid the draft. However, a significant number of gay men and women did manage to avoid the pre-screening process and serve in the military, some with special distinction. For example, in the 1950s - 1960s the Navy medical doctor Tom Dooley received national fame for his anti-Communist and humanitarian efforts in Vietnam. His homosexuality was something of an open secret in the Navy, but eventually he was forced to resign and the Navy conducted the first official study on sexual orientation and the Navy regulations and rules. The 1957 report, titled Report of the Board Appointed to Prepare and Submit Recommendations to the Secretary of the Navy for the Revision of Policies, Procedures and Directives Dealing With Homosexuals (aka the Crittenden Report) found that gays were no more likely to be a security risk than heterosexuals and found there were no rational basis for excluding gays from the Navy, although it stopped short of recommending a change in the regulations because of society's social mores.
Beyond the official regulations, gays were often the target of various types of harassment by their fellow heterosexual servicemen, designed to persuade them to resign from the military or turn themselves in to investigators. The most infamous type of such harassment was called a "blanket party" and involved several other service members during the night in the barracks, who first covered the face of the victim with a blanket and then committed assault, often quite severely and occasionally even fatally. The introduction of "Don't ask, don't tell" with the later amendment of "don't harass, don't pursue" has officially prohibited such behavior, but reports suggest that such harassment continues. The degree of official and unofficial attempts to separate gays from the armed forces seems to be directly related to the personnel needs of the armed forces. Hence, during wartime, it has not been uncommon for the rules regarding homosexuality to be relaxed. Up until 1981 it was the policy of all branches of the armed forces to retain a homosexual, at their discretion, thus promoting the "queen for a day" rule which allowed a person accused of homosexuality to remain in the armed forces if they could successfully claim that their behavior was only a temporary occurrence. This especially became the case during the Vietnam War.
However, during the 1970s several high-profile court challenges to the military's regulations on homosexuality occurred, with little success, and when such successes did occur it was when the plaintiff had been open about his homosexuality from the beginning or due to the existence of the "queen for a day" rule. In 1981 the Department of Defense issued a new regulation on homosexuality that was designed to ensure withstanding a court challenge by developing uniform and clearly defined regulations and justifications that made homosexual status and conduct grounds for discharge (DOD Directive 1332.14 (Enlisted Administrative Separations), January, 1981):
- "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service. The presence in the military environment of persons who engage in homosexual conduct or who, by their statements, demonstrate a propensity to engage in homosexual conduct, seriously impairs the accomplishment of the military mission. The presence of such members adversely affects the ability of the armed forces to maintain discipline, good order, and morale; to foster mutual trust and confidence among service members; to insure the integrity of the system of rank and command; to facilitate assignment and worldwide deployment of service members who frequently must live and work in close conditions affording minimal privacy; to recruit and retain members of the armed forces; to maintain the public acceptability of military service; and to prevent breaches of security."
The directive justifed the policy and removed the "queen for a day" rule that had prompted some courts to rule against the armed forces. However, the intent of the policy had also been to treat homosexuality as being akin to a disability discharge and thus ensure that gays would be separated with an honorable discharge. The DOD policy has since withstood most court challenges, although the United States Supreme Court has refused to weigh in on the constitutionality of the policy, preferring to allow lower courts and the United States Congress to settle the matter.
However, in the 1980s many of the Democratic Party presidential candidates had expressed an interest in changing the regulations concerning homosexuality in the armed forces, and, as American society's social mores changed, public opinion began to express more sympathy with gays in armed forces, at least to the extent that investigations into a serviceman or woman's sexual orientation were seen as a witch-hunt. "Gays in the military" became a political issue during the 1992 Presidential campaign, when Clinton, the Democratic candidate, promised to lift the military's ban on gays.
In 1992 the United States General Accounting Office published a report titled Defense Force Management: DOD’s Policy on Homosexuality. GAO/NSAID-92-98, that outlined the DOD policy on homosexuality and the reasons for it. The report also included excerpts from a previously unpublished 1988 DOD study on homosexuality that made similar conclusions as the 1957 Crittenden Report. In 1993 the two reports were published alongside an argument by an armed forces general who argued against lifting the ban on gays based on a belief that gays pose a security risk, will erode unit cohesion and morale alongside the argument that most gays are pedophiles who engage in a self-destructive and immoral life-style.
Congressional opposition to lifting the ban on gays in the armed forces was led by Democrat Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia who organized Congressional hearings that largely buffed the armed forces position that has remained unchanged since the 1981 directive. While Congressional support for reform was led by Democrat Congressmen Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who fought for a compromise, and retired Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, who argued for a complete repeal of the ban. Social conservative interest groups successfully flooded the Congressional phone lines with oppositions to lifting the ban, and for his part, President Clinton soon backed off on his campaign promise to lift the ban on gays in the armed forces. The final result was a Congressional compromise of "Don't ask, don't tell" that was later amended to include "don't harass." Officially, the compromise dictates that the armed forces will no longer ask recruits about their sexual orientation, will not investigate any serviceman or woman's sexual orientation without solid evidence (thus preventing witch-hunts), and homosexual servicemen and women agree that they will not engage in homosexual sex acts, or do anything that announces that they are a homosexual, i.e. public statements or participate in a same-sex marriage openly.
In 2000, Northwestern University Professor Charles Moskos, the principal author of DADT (Which, as originally coined by Moskos, was "Don't Ask Don't Tell; Don't Seek Don't Flaunt"), told "Lingua Franca" that he felt that policy will be gone within five to ten years. Moskos also dismissed the unit cohesion argument, instead arguing that gays should be banned due to "modesty rights", saying "Fuck unit cohesion. I don't care about that...I should not be forced to shower with a woman. I should not be forced to shower with a gay [man]." Moskos did not offer any alternative to his DADT policy. [1]
On September 13, 2005, the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military (on October 23, 2006 renamed the Michael D. Palm Center), a think tank affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara, issued a news release revealing the existence of a 1999 FORSCOM regulation (Regulation 500-3-3) that allowed the active duty deployment of Army Reservists and National Guard troops who say they are gay or who are accused of being gay. U.S. Army Forces Command spokesperson Kim Waldron later confirmed the regulation and indicated that it was intended to prevent Reservists and National Guard members from pretending to be gay to escape combat.[2]
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has been upheld five times in federal court, and in a recent Supreme Court case, Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the federal government could withhold funding in order to force universities to accept military recruiters in spite of their nondiscrimination policies.[3]
[edit] Public opinion
Polls have shown that a large majority of the American public favors allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the US military. A national poll conducted in May 2005 by the Boston Globe showed 79% of participants having nothing against openly gay people from serving in the military. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March 2006 showed that 60% favor allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, with 32% opposed. [1] Over recent years, while the American public has begun to favor the idea of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, the military remains strongly opposed. An Army Times poll of military members only found 25% in favor of allowing homosexuals to serve openly. [2]
[edit] Statistics
Statistics on the number of persons discharged from the military in the fiscal years since the policy was first introduced (1993):
| Year | Coast Guard | Marines | Navy | Army | Air Force | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0 | 36 | 258 | 136 | 187 | 617 |
| 1995 | 15 | 69 | 269 | 184 | 235 | 772 |
| 1996 | 12 | 60 | 315 | 199 | 284 | 870 |
| 1997 | 10 | 78 | 413 | 197 | 309 | 1,007 |
| 1998 | 14 | 77 | 345 | 312 | 415 | 1,163 |
| 1999 | 12 | 97 | 314 | 271 | 352 | 1,046 |
| 2000 | 19 | 104 | 358 | 573 | 177 | 1,231 |
| 2001* | — | — | — | — | — | 1,273 |
| 2002* | — | — | — | — | — | 906 |
| 2003* | — | — | — | — | — | 787 |
| 2004 | 15 | 59 | 177 | 325 | 92 | 668 |
| 2005 | 16 | 75 | 177 | 386 | 88 | 742 |
| Total | 113 | 655 | 2,626 | 2,583 | 2,139 | 11,082 |
- * Breakdown of discharges by service branch not available
- 1994-2003 from Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - Annual Gay Discharges Under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass"
- 2004-2005 from 365Gay.com - Military Discharging Two Soldiers Per Day For Being Gay Despite War Group Says
In February 2005, the Government Accountability Office released estimates on the cost of the policy to the U.S. government, totalling nearly $200 million since 1993.
[edit] Military Readiness Enhancement Act
On March 2, 2005, Marty Meehan [D-MA] introduced H.R. 1059 of the 109th Congress. This bill is known as the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005, and if enacted, would hail the end of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and all discrimination based upon sexual-orientation within the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security [concerning the USCG when not acting under the USN].
Bill Summary:
Title: To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Sponsor: Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] (introduced 3/2/2005)
Latest Major Action: 3/17/2005 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
At the close of the 109th Congress, the bill had 122 cosponsors[4].
On February 28, 2007, Marty Meehan [D-MA], member of the United States House Committee on Armed Services and Chairman of the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, reintroduced this bill as H.R. 1246 - the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2007.
[edit] Criticism
Both former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Shalikashvili (Ret.)[5] and former Senator and Secretary of Defense William Cohen[citation needed] spoke against the policy publicly in early January 2007.
[edit] Situation outside the United States
Some Western military forces have now removed policies excluding individuals of other sexual orientations (with strict policies on sexual harassment). Of the 25 countries that participate militarily in NATO, more than twenty permit gays to serve; of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, two (Britain, France) permit gays to serve openly, and three (United States, Russia, China) do not.
[edit] See also
- Allen Schindler - Sailor who was brutally murdered in a crime of hate by his fellow Sailors.
- Barry Winchell - American soldier who was killed by fellow soldiers because he was thought to be a homosexual.
- Margarethe Cammermeyer
- Thomasson v. Perry - The first test of Don't Ask, Don't Tell to reach the Supreme Court.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Frank, Nathaniel. "The Real Story of Military Sociology and 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'", Lingua Franca, October 2000, pp. 71-81. Retrieved on August 9, 2008.
- ^ Chibbaro, Lou (2005). Out gay soldiers sent to Iraq - Regulation keeps straights from ‘playing gay’ to avoid war. Washington Blade. Retrieved on March 6, 2006.
- ^ Mears, Bill (2006). Justices uphold military recruiting on campuses. CNN Law Center. Retrieved on March 6, 2006.
- ^ Library of Congress. Cosponsors to H.R. 1059. Retrieved on January 31, 2007.
- ^ Lubold, Gordon. "Former JCS chairman: It’s time to give ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy another look", Air Force Times, 2007-01-15. Retrieved on January 13, 2007.
[edit] Other sources
- Johansson, Warren and William A Percy. Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence. Harrington Park Press, 1994.
- Shilits, Randy (1994). Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military.
- Carter, Chad C. and Kolenc, Antony B. Law Review Article:"Don't Ask, Don't Tell:" Has the Policy Met Its Goals? University of Dayton Law Review, Fall 2005.
[edit] External links
- 10 U.S.C. § 654. Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Gays and U.S. Military Policy
- Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
- Chronology of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
- Michael D. Palm Center
- Center for Military Readiness page on Gays in the Military
- A New Kind of War, An Old Kind of Prejudice by Brian W. Fairbanks
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Clinton Administration initiatives | Discrimination | History of LGBT civil rights in the United States | Political slogans | United States federal civil rights legislation | United States federal defense and national security legislation | United States military policies
